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The latest chemical industry news

Investment firm Fidelity (Boston) has stepped in to urge a solution to the proxy battle between DuPont and activist hedge fund Trian Fund Management (New York), according to a Reuters report. Trian disclosed in an SEC filing last week that it had been...

DSM today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Aland (Hong Kong), a company producing vitamin C in Mainland China. DSM announced in April 2014 that it was in exclusive discussions to acquire Aland, and in July 2014, DSM...

This week

North America’s natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) remain cost advantaged, but with oil prices at half their previous level, the returns expected for some projects may not be as compelling or reliable as once thought. Add to these considerations the ongoing resource crunch created by so much construction, and incentive is growing to postpone final investment decisions or even cancel projects...read more>>

Americas

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP; Harrisburg) has announced its intention to issue air permits to Shell Chemicals' planned Appalachian petrochemical complex at Monaca, PA. The DEP will hold a public hearing on 5 May to take comments regarding Shell’s application....

Europe

BP Refining and Petrochemical’s (BPRP) steam crackers at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are running at reduced rates following an unexpected outage toward the end of last week. The two crackers, each with a capacity of 540,000 m.t./year, are reportedly back...

news round-up

Chemical industry financial analysts expect North American chemical companies to report solid fourth-quarter earnings, driven by lower raw material costs and solid demand, but the outlook for 2015 will be cautious. In research notes, the analysts cite a range of factors driving industry performance, but the recent collapse of crude oil pricing stands out. A majority of US chemical makers report are set to report fourth-quarter earnings over the next two weeks. ...

Asia/Pacific

Sumitomo Chemical today announced that it will integrate its agricultural chemicals business with the company’s biorational business operations, effective 1 April, in order to strengthen its global crop protection business. Until now, the group’s...

Mideast/Africa

Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem), after announcing at the end of last year its plan to commission some of the process units within the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) complex, operated by affiliate Sipchem Chemicals Co. at Al Jubail, said...

Viewpoint

Global petrochemical makers are still sorting through a correction in energy markets. As CW’s cover story shows, North America’s natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) remain strongly advantaged, but with oil prices at half their previous level, the returns expected for some projects may not be as compelling or reliable as they once were (p. 19)....